How much does an MA make in Virginia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $42,310 for MAs in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $37,380 and the 75th-percentile is $46,060.

How are Virginia MA salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?

P10 to P90 spans $35,040 to $48,510. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these MA salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Virginia?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Virginia.

Does CMA / RMA certification raise medical assistant pay in Virginia?

BLS does not split certified from uncertified medical assistants under SOC 31-9092. In Virginia, AAMA-certified Medical Assistant (CMA) and AMT Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) credentials typically command a 5-15% pay premium versus uncertified MAs at comparable experience. The premium is concentrated in larger health systems and specialty clinics with formal MA tier structures; smaller primary-care practices in Virginia often pay similarly regardless of certification. Phlebotomy, EKG, and limited-X-ray endorsements add additional 3-8% premiums where state scope permits.

Is the medical assistant role still a viable RN-bridge path in Virginia?

MA → RN remains a common pathway in Virginia. The financial logic: an MA earning at the Virginia BLS median while completing an associate-degree RN program (typically 2 years post-prerequisites, $5K-$25K tuition at community college) sees an average BLS-reported wage roughly 2-2.5× higher post-licensure. BSN-direct programs ($40K-$120K) extend payback timeline but open hospital and management tracks. Many Virginia health systems offer tuition support or ladder programs that effectively eliminate program cost — making the MA-to-RN economic transition substantially more favorable than the headline tuition implies.

How Much Do Medical Assistants Make in Virginia? $42K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Virginia MA median pay at $42,310. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $41,754.
Nominal: #30/51 · Real: #41/51 — ranking shifts by 11 positions after RPP.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Quartile range $37,380 (bottom 25%) to $46,060 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $35,040 to $48,510.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$35,040	$34,580
P25 (lower quartile)	$37,380	$36,889
P50 (median)	$42,310	$41,754
P75 (upper quartile)	$46,060	$45,455
P90 (top tier)	$48,510	$47,873
Mean	$42,260	$41,705
Employment	15,990 MAs in Virginia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Virginia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	101.3
Goods	101.1
Services	92.4
Rents	105.6

Virginia's overall RPP (101.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Virginia (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (MA)	$42,310	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$2,939	6.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,687	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,237	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$34,448	81.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$33,995	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Virginia state-tax burden means for MA take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $34,448 (81.4% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $33,995.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $44,200 for MAs with mean pay of $44,720 and total employment of 793,460. Virginia sits at #30 on nominal pay and #41 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 11 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an MA make in Virginia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $42,310 for MAs in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $37,380 and the 75th-percentile is $46,060.
How are Virginia MA salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?: P10 to P90 spans $35,040 to $48,510. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these MA salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Virginia?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Virginia.
Does CMA / RMA certification raise medical assistant pay in Virginia?: BLS does not split certified from uncertified medical assistants under SOC 31-9092. In Virginia, AAMA-certified Medical Assistant (CMA) and AMT Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) credentials typically command a 5-15% pay premium versus uncertified MAs at comparable experience. The premium is concentrated in larger health systems and specialty clinics with formal MA tier structures; smaller primary-care practices in Virginia often pay similarly regardless of certification. Phlebotomy, EKG, and limited-X-ray endorsements add additional 3-8% premiums where state scope permits.
Is the medical assistant role still a viable RN-bridge path in Virginia?: MA → RN remains a common pathway in Virginia. The financial logic: an MA earning at the Virginia BLS median while completing an associate-degree RN program (typically 2 years post-prerequisites, $5K-$25K tuition at community college) sees an average BLS-reported wage roughly 2-2.5× higher post-licensure. BSN-direct programs ($40K-$120K) extend payback timeline but open hospital and management tracks. Many Virginia health systems offer tuition support or ladder programs that effectively eliminate program cost — making the MA-to-RN economic transition substantially more favorable than the headline tuition implies.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 31-9092, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Virginia MA pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.